At The End
by Cheeseburger of Doom
Summary: [Warlords 13] At the end of all things, there could be hope...or tragedy.


A/N: This is the end. cries I'm sure there are a million more stories I could write for this series, but all things must come to an end at some point, I suppose. Thirteen stories seems unlucky, somehow...Ah, anyway.  
  
A special thanks to sadistfujifan who read every single one of these. That means a lot to me, it really does.

Warnings: Character death(s), violence, much angst, immoral stuff, AU, messing with your favorite characters, etc. etc.

Warlords #13:

At The End

He'd finally kicked the cigarette addiction, and though sometimes there was nothing that would have helped him more than a good smoke, he stuck to it. Yukimura would have been very proud of him for succeeding; proud of him for living on in the outside world they had both dreamed of joining. It was not a perfect world, but Sanada had never expected it to be perfect.

It was exactly one year to the day that he'd found Kaido, half-dead in an alley. They sat on the couch together now; Kaido with his head against Sanada's chest, enjoying the quiet night.

"It's been a year," Sanada said.

"I know."

"We've survived."

"We'll keep on surviving."

Sanada wished that Yukimura could see this world, could share it with him. He knew that Kaido wished the same about Inui. They both missed their loved ones, but after a year, some of the grief had faded. They were both as content as they could be. They had each other, after all.

Suddenly, Kaido sat up. "I just had a terrible feeling. Something is going to happen," he said.

"What do you mean?"

Kaido shrugged. "I don't know."

"Maybe you're just tired."

"Probably."

"Let's go to bed," Sanada said. "We both need rest."

-----

While Sanada and Kaido slept, Niou reached the end of his patience. It was time to act. It was time for some kind of final battle. He wanted an end, and he wanted one now. He was sure to be the victor; he and his gang would defeat the others, and win the ultimate power.

It was time to issue challenges. It was time to do something that had needed to be done for a very, very long time.

He called for Yagyuu. Yagyuu was always there beside him.

"I want you to deliver a few messages for me," he said. When Yagyuu heard what the messages were, he actually looked surprised. That was very rare.

"So, you're tired of waiting," he said. "You want your power now."

"I've wanted it forever," Niou said. "Now's the time to act."

"As you wish, then."

Yagyuu left the room to do his leader's bidding. The sudden timing of the act had surprised him, not the act itself. He'd always known that it would come to this, one day.

There was only one thing left for him to do, now. Follow orders, and then...Then, the end would come.

What that end was, he did not want to know.

-----

Atobe had lost the will to fight a long time ago. It was many months now since Marui had taken his first victim; his first, and hopefully his last. Marui still suffered from nightmares, and woke screaming in the night. Usually, he screamed Atobe's name.

"I'm here," Atobe would say, when Marui sobbed into the pillow. He held Marui every night; held him until the sobs eased, and the nightmares faded, and he could sleep again.

Atobe also suffered from nightmares, lately. Twisted, gruesome nightmares, that featured Marui dying in various brutal ways.

He should have killed Marui when he had the chance. Instead of asking Marui to join the gang, he could have ended the boy's misery. It was Atobe's fault that the innocence was gone, replaced by nightmares; Atobe's fault that Marui was being consumed by guilt for taking a human life. He'd done it to save the one that he loved.

"You were probably just a happy and mischievous boy," Atobe said, to Marui's sleeping form.

Marui stirred, and opened his eyes. "Did you say something?"

"No."

"What did Niou's messenger want, earlier?"

"A fight."

Atobe had lost his will to fight, but Niou had sent a message to him; it was time for the last fight, the messenger had said. Time to end it all. An end sounded wonderful.

"Another one?"

"Yes."

It wasn't Atobe's way to apologize, but suddenly he no longer cared what was his way or not. The end was coming soon, anyway.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"I have too many things to be sorry for," Atobe said. "You changed me. I tried to keep you away, but you managed to get to me, anyway. You made me sorry."

Marui looked about to cry. "I..."

"No, don't. It doesn't matter. What's done is done, and there is no going back now. I blame myself for what happened to you, but that isn't your fault, so don't feel any more guilty than you need to."

"Atobe..." Marui sat up, and hugged him. Atobe found himself hugging the boy -- no, he was a man, now -- back, with all his might; he felt that if he let go, Marui would disappear.

"I want you to stay out of this fight," Atobe said. "When it's all over, no matter who the victor is, I want you to get away. Somehow, you have to get back to the outside, where you belong."

"I belong here, with you."

"No. You belong somewhere that isn't stained with blood," Atobe said. "Now go back to sleep."

Marui stayed in his arms all night. Atobe slept better than he had in a long time. He was looking forward to the end of it all.

-----

Mizuki had a very large smile on his face. A very large, vacant smile. Yuuta was a little frightened. Mizuki had never looked like this before. Mizuki either looked sly or cruel; but now...he just looked crazy.

"That idiot Niou thinks he can win the final battle," Mizuki said. "I've planned too long and too hard to let him beat me. I'm going to rule, no matter what dirty tricks I have to play."

"Mizuki-san..."

"Did I give you permission to speak?" Mizuki demanded. "Don't interrupt my planning."

Yuuta backed out of the room, and hoped that Mizuki would not notice his absence. He went to find Shinjyo. Maybe Shinjyo would be able to calm some of the worry in his heart. He doubted that, though; things were coming to an end, and there was no way to stop it. No matter what, there was going to be much death, very soon.

Yuuta did not want to die, nor did he want to kill. There seemed to be no way out of it, though. He was a part of this gang, and would be a part of the fight. Not even Shinjyo could make him feel better about that.

-----

"Why does Niou want to be the ultimate leader, anyway?" Kirihara asked Yanagi. Yanagi was inspecting his fighting knives.

"He wants the power."

"Why?"

"Some people are like that. I don't understand it, either. He was born with the desire for power, and he's been given the chance to seek it out."

"It seems kind of pointless. Why would he want to rule a bunch of half-assed gangs? We're all going to die off. If not in this fight, then under the rule of whoever wins this stupid fight."

"We both know that, but Niou doesn't want to see it that way. He lives in an illusion."

Kirihara snorted. "I wouldn't mind living in someplace that wasn't real, but I'm not an idiot."

"You're stronger than he is, Akaya. You see the world for what it is."

"Yeah. It pretty much sucks. I'm glad you're here, though. Let's fight together, okay?"

"Always," Yanagi replied.

-----

Shishido stared out at the gloomy night.

What are you doing tonight, Choutarou? Are you looking down on me, from wherever you are?

"Shishido. Did you here about the message?" Jiroh asked, standing in the doorway.

"Yeah. I did. This is long overdue, if you ask me. I can't wait for it to all be over."

"I know what you mean."

"Do you? You don't seem to care about anything, really. You spend most of your time sleeping. How do you really feel about this gang?"

"I think that the world that we live in is sad, and no more children should have to be born into it," Jiroh said. "No one outside will really notice when we're gone, except that there will be less things stolen, so it's all the better. An end will be good."

"I can't wait to die," Shishido said softly.

-----

"This is it," Atsushi said. "This is the end. Make your brother proud, Yohei."

"Only if you do the same."

They put on their helmets. Mizuki signalled for them to move out, and the motorcycles sped off.

The final battle was here. The winner of this one would be the ruler of them all; at least, whoever was left over.

Atsushi had a feeling there would not be very many.

-----

Once, there had been only one gang; one large and prosperous gang. It had formed in the outside world, and had become so powerful that the people there had banded together and forced the members of that gang out, into the ruined place in which their descendants now lived. They had taken their revenge by stealing from those that had driven them away, and occasionally killing some of them. The people on the outside had forgotten their existence after a while, because they had wanted to forget. They blamed the crime the gangs caused on various other people in society.

The large gang had split up not very long after, due to many disagreements in the ranks. Four gangs were formed then; four gangs that hated each other viciously, because of a few simple disagreements as to who would be the leader.

The descendants knew none of their history, however. They had forgotten their origins. They only knew that they fought one another to prove themselves. They fought to decide who should be the leader.

The gangs had dwindled. There were less and less women, and less and less men sought out women from the outside. This would be the end.

-----

Yagyuu was at Niou's side, as he always was, as they waited for the arrival of the two other gangs.

"Here they come," Niou said. Yagyuu could hear in his voice that he was grinning, though he did not turn to look. He settled his helmet on his head. It was time to fight.

Yagyuu did not have the same plans as Niou, however. He shared Niou's ambitions, and he also wanted to have the ultimate power -- but he left all that to Niou. Since Niou was around, he had not needed to act -- until now. Now was the time. Soon, he would remove the only obstacle that stood in his way.

The one that he loved the most. Niou himself.

-----

Kirihara wanted to fight Mizuki. His deep, burning hatred for Mizuki had never disappeared, and he did not think it ever would. Mizuki had used and abused him for far too long for him to forget it so easily.

He could recognize Mizuki even in a motorcycle helmet. Mizuki was burned into his mind; Kirihara knew every inch of him much better than he'd ever wanted to.

Kirihara expected Mizuki to fight with one of the other leaders, but when the fight actually broke out, Atobe and Niou were against each other. That left Mizuki open.

Kirihara went for him.

-----

Atsushi and Yohei were partners, these days. They understood each other's sorrow much better than anyone else ever could have. They had each lost a brother and a lover; a twin; a bond so tight that it never should have broken. Together they fought two men; one whose heart was not in it, and another who was trying to protect him from harm -- though he himself did not seem to care about the fight much, either.

Suddenly, Atushi stopped, abruptly. He removed his helmet. "Enough," he said.

Yohei stopped and removed his helmet as well. "I agree."

The two other men followed suit, and Atushi and Yohei finally got to look their opponents in the face.

"We see each other at last," Yohei said. "To see the face of the one that you're fighting..."

"I don't want to fight anymore," said the man whose heart was not in it.

"What's your name?" Atsushi asked.

"Shishido. Shishido Ryo."

"I'm Kisarazu Atsushi. Will you do me a favor, Shishido? A favor for your enemy? I want you to kill me."

"What?"

"I'm tired of living. I've kept going this long only for my twin. He had the same name as you, you know. Ryo. Will you kill me, so I can see him again?"

"I can't kill you like that, when you're looking at me," Shishido said. "Choutarou would never forgive me."

"You lost the one you love?"

"Yes."

"Then we share the same pain." Atsushi turned to the other man. "Who are you?"

"Akutagawa Jiroh."

"Will you kill me?"

"No. Not like this. I don't want to kill anyone ever again," Jiroh said. "Especially not when I've learned their names, and my heart's realized that they're people."

"I don't want to fight anymore," Atsushi said, "And if you won't kill me, then there's only one thing I can do."

No one tried to stop him from slitting his wrists. No one tried to stop Yohei from repeating the action on himself.

Shishido and Jiroh knew pain, knew suffering. They did not want to hold these two in the world of misery.

"We made a promise," Yohei said. "We die together. My name is Tanaka Yohei, by the way." That was directed at Shishido and Jiroh.

"Today is really the end," Atsushi said. "Thank you both for telling us your names."

"Thank you for showing us your faces," Shishido said. He and Jiroh got off their motorcycles, and stayed by Atsushi and Yohei while their lives slowly slipped away.

-----

"You're my half-brother! How could you do this to me?" Mizuki shrieked. Kirihara stood over him, pointing a gun at his face. Their helmets had been shed. They looked each other in the eye.

Kirihara looked like a monster.

"I got turned into something violent," Kirihara said. "It was partly your fault, dear brother. How can I help what I am now?"

"I gave you everything, and this is how you repay me?"

"What did you give me? You raped me, and treated me like shit, and then when I finally escaped you, I let someone else do the same thing because I was used to it!" Kirihara's finger on the trigger shook. "I want to blow your brains out!"

He dropped the gun.

"But I don't want to see any more blood. Just stay out of my sight from now on," he growled, and he turned his back.

Mizuki jumped him, and held a knife to his throat.

"I won't be so forgiving," he purred, into Kirihara's ear. "If I get rid of you, then no one will stand in my way."

Mizuki's lifeless body was heavy, and Kirihara buckled under its weight. Yanagi caught him, and tossed Mizuki aside.

"It's over," Yanagi said. "Forget him, now."

"Yeah. Thanks for saving me," Kirihara said. It was too sad; Yanagi had managed to live this long without killing, and now...for Kirihara's sake...

"Anything for you, Akaya."

Kirihara found that there were tears in his eyes. "Damn it," he said. Yanagi put arms around him, and held him for a long time. The fight raged around them.

-----

Akazawa saw Mizuki fall, but he was too late to stop it. He knelt by Mizuki's corpse, and wept.

"I couldn't save you," he said. "I couldn't save you from anything. Not that you would have ever cared if I did."

He curled up next to the corpse, and waited for a long time to become a corpse himself.

-----

Shinjyo and Yuuta faced a shaking Marui.

"I've killed someone before," Marui said. "I'll do it again if I have to."

Shinjyo shook his head. "You don't even want to fight. We won't make you."

"What?"

"We don't want to fight, either," Yuuta said. "We've both had enough of it."

Marui dropped his knife. "You've had enough, too?"

"Yes."

Marui's knees went weak. He started to fall, and Shinjyo ran to catch him. He looked up at the big man, and smiled, weakly.

"Does this mean we're not enemies anymore?"

"Yes."

"Good." Marui stood on his own feet again, and would have said more, but noticed that Atobe was in trouble. He rushed to help.

-----

"Go ahead and kill me quickly," Atobe said to Niou. He was on the ground, and Niou was standing over him, knife in hand.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Niou said, grinning. They had both lost their helmets somewhere. It was unnerving, being able to see his face. Atobe had rarely been able to see the face of his opponents; they were gangs that fought on motorcycles. Motorcycles that were always stolen from the outside world.

"No!" Before Atobe could stop it, Marui had thrown himself on top of him, as a human shield.

"What a cute little pet you have here," Niou said. "Too bad I'll have to kill him. He would have been fun to play with."

"Marui! Get away!" Atobe commanded.

"No! If you're going to die, then take me with you," Marui said. "I love you. You've always been there for me, and you've always given me everything I ever wanted, even though you pretended not to care."

"Marui..."

"This is very touching, but you're making me sick," Niou said. The knife came down -- and stopped before it reached them. It dropped out of Niou's hand, and landed in the dirt.

"What...Why?" he gasped. Yagyuu was standing behind him, holding the knife that was in Niou's back.

"I know you too well," Yagyuu said, calmly. "I know your ambitions, and I share them. I want the ultimate power, too. I can't be happy if you're the leader and I can have none of it for myself. If you'd never been born, I would be the leader; or maybe I would never have existed. In any case, it is my job to kill you, to make sure that the power is never yours. We can share it in the afterlife." Yagyuu pulled the knife from Niou's back, and looked calmly to Atobe and Marui.

"I loved him," he said.

"Then why did you kill him?" Atobe asked.

"I just explained. I couldn't let him have all that power. I've always been beside him, and I've always followed every order he gave me. This time, it's different. This time, I want to have the power." Yagyuu smiled. "The power to end it all myself."

He pushed his knife into Niou's hand. Niou was on his knees on the ground, life's blood spilling from his body. He had just enough strength to clutch the knife and bury it in Yagyuu's chest, when he knelt down before him.

"Damn you," Niou gasped. "Why? I don't understand!"

"I already explained twice. I won't do it again."

The two of them fell into each other's arms, and died together on the ground.

-----

Marui scrambled to his feet, and helped Atobe up. Atobe was injured, but he didn't think it was serious.

He looked around, but it seemed as though the fighting was already over.

"This really is the end," Shishido said, looking out at the battlefield. "I don't think the rest of us feel like continuing."

"What are you going to do?" Jiroh asked. "Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know. Somewhere. Anywhere but here."

"We will come with you," Atobe said. "I want to get Marui away from this place."

"This isn't a gang anymore, though," Shishido said, warningly.

"I never said it was. I have no intention of making it that they come, too?" Marui asked, pointing to Shinjyo and Yuuta. "They don't want to fight anymore, either."

"Why not?" Atobe said, with a shrug. "Let's all go to the outside, together."

"The outside?" Marui said, with wonder.

"Yes. I don't think we'll be able to change enough to fit in there, but what else is left? All we can do is try."

"Are you coming with us?" Jiroh asked Yanagi and Kirihara, who had joined the crowd.

"No," Yanagi said. "We already have somewhere that we can go. Good luck to you all, though."

"We'll need it," Atobe said, with a nod to him. "I don't know either of you personally, but I know that we all know each other well. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Yanagi and Kirihara walked away. Atobe and the rest watched them for a while.

"So, which way should we go?" Yuuta asked.

"Let's just walk until we can't walk anymore," Shishido said. "Maybe fate will lead us someplace happier."

"Do you believe in fate?" Yuuta asked.

"No."

"How very fitting, then. Trust in fate," Atobe said. He felt Marui take his hand.

"No matter what, at least we're together," he said.

"You can stay with me always, Marui," Atobe said.

"Thank you."

-----

Sanada heard the knock on his door and started. Who could that possibly be? He never had visitors, because he did not have any friends, besides Kaido. It was not his landlord, either, because he'd paid his bill this month; there was no need for him to be here.

He was shocked at who stood outside the door.

"You? What are you doing here?"

Yanagi nodded. "We were wondering if we could maybe stay with you for a while," he said.

"Why?"

"It's all over. The gangs are all over. There were only a few of us left standing," Yanagi said. "There is no point in staying in that world anymore, even if I don't think I can survive in this one."

Kaido's prediction the other night had been right. Something bad really had happened.

Was it really that bad, though?

"Come in," Sanada said. He owed Yanagi his life; and also, Yanagi was his friend. He wasn't going to leave him on the doorstep. He had never been especially fond of Kirihara, but he did not hate him; if Yanagi wanted him around, so be it.

Kaido was standing in the bedroom door. He'd been asleep until he'd heard Sanada talking to someone.

"The gangs are dead," Sanada explained. "They want to stay with us."

Kaido nodded. "Welcome to the outside," he said. "It's hard, but you'll get used to it, after a while."

-----

"Do you think we'll make it, out there?" Yuuta asked. They were still walking, farther and farther into the unknown. The outside world approached them rapidly.

"If we try hard enough," Shinjyo said, "And if we can make them accept us, somehow."

Yuuta would try to be strong, but he was scared. He couldn't remember the outside world at all. What would it be like? What would life be like without Mizuki ordering around?

"Just stay near me, always," Shinjyo said. "Everything will be fine."

Yuuta believed that with all his heart.

Shishido had decided to live on for as long as he could. He probably wouldn't survive very long on the outside, anyway; but he wanted to see it. He hoped that somehow, Ohtori would be able to see that world through his eyes.

I'll love you forever, Choutarou. Forever, and always.

Somewhere far away, Ohtori agreed.


End file.
